Anja, her brothers Alfie and Toby, and Rob Hemmersley; a young policeman, disappear from a small English village one midsummer night.

Why does the Land; a sentient, vast and almost unpopulated world want Anja? Why do its servants; the old Gods of our world, take such interest in this child? One beguiles her, one helps her, one hunts her.

What of Rob Hemmersley? Alone, driven insane after entering the Land. Turned into a vicious creature obsessed with taking retribution on the children who he blames for his misfortune?

The Land watches dispassionately. The children will either survive or not. If they do they will never be the same, especially Anja; manipulated, terrified, enhanced with power she cannot control. If she survives she could become its most powerful servant. To what end: A child considering her humanity.